One child is dead and at least 20 others are injured after a crash involving a school bus in Clark County, Ohio, on the district’s first day of school.
The school bus collided with a Honda at around 8:15 a.m. local time, officials said at a news conference. There were 53 people aboard the bus, including the driver.
In a news release, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the bus was traveling westbound and was struck by a 2010 Honda Odyssey minivan that was traveling eastbound and “went left of center.” The bus “subsequently went off the right side of the roadway and overturned as a result of the crash.”
The Honda was driven by Hermanio Joseph, 35, and a passenger in the car was identified as Roberto Mompremier, 37, officials said. Both men were transported to Springfield Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Dayton Children’s Hospital confirmed to CBS News they received 22 patients from the crash. Some were transferred by ambulance, while others were brought by their parents, the hospital said. In a news release, officials said 22 children were hospitalized, one with serious injuries.
The student who died was ejected from the bus and succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene, officials said.
The bus driver, identified as 68-year-old Alfred E. Collier, suffered minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital, officials said.
Northwestern Local Schools, a district with one elementary school and one middle/high school, said on Facebook there had been a “bus accident on one of (the) elementary routes.”
The crash remains under investigation.
A parent reunification center was established at a local firehouse, the district said. School officials said parents would be contacted if their children had been involved.
Tuesday is the district’s first day of school, according to its website. The school said on Facebook classes will be dismissed at the “usual times,” but warned that bus drop off times are expected “to be off this afternoon.”
